Arsenal are in a battle with Chelsea over a deal to sign Jacobo Ramon from Como next summer, according to Sports Boom.
Since promotion to the Italian top flight, much of the spotlight surrounding Como has focused on the expansive attacking style implemented by Cesc Fabregas, though their remarkable pursuit of European qualification this season has been equally rooted in defensive discipline.
Across 36 Serie A fixtures, no club in the division has conceded fewer than I Lariani’s 28 goals, while Jean Butez leads the league for clean sheets with 18.
A major reason behind that defensive resilience has been Ramón, whose commanding presence and organisation at the back, alongside Diego Carlos and Marc-Oliver Kempf, have sparked growing interest from several clubs ahead of the upcoming summer market.
Among the clubs looking to sign Ramon are Chelsea and Arsenal, according to Sports Boom, which claims that both clubs were present at Como’s stadium to watch the 6ft 5in centre-back in action against Napoli earlier this month.
For the Gunners, the report adds that Mikel Arteta admires his technical and ball-playing profile, and the club are now looking to sign him to compete for a starting spot rather than be a backup.
The Blues, on the other hand, view him as a fit for their youth-driven recruitment model and are keeping tabs on him ahead of a potential transfer to Stamford Bridge, according to Sports Boom.
Battle
Como are poised to resist offers in the summer, especially with Madrid due to receive 50% of his future sale, leading to a high valuation of £39-43m, as per the report, with Chelsea and Arsenal now showing interest.
Ramon has emerged as one of the best young centre-backs not just in the Italian division but across Europe this season, and his statistics back that up.
The Spain U21 international has won a sky-high 165 duels, made 106 recoveries and 113 clearances. With the emerging rise of attacking and defending set pieces in the Premier League, he would make a good fit, having won 102 of his aerial duels.
The youngster’s passes are placed at a 91.2% success rate, while his 2,364 touches highlight his reliability for possession-based sides.
Ramon would undoubtedly be a good fit for Arsenal or Chelsea, so it’ll be interesting to see which of the free-spending London clubs wins the race to secure his signature.
Other News
